Backset link for lock sets



May 24, 1960 E. o. SODERBERG 2,937,897

BACKSET LINK FOR LOCK SETS Filed Jan. 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 16' l' y 27 ff az as" f y;

INVENTOR. Ma 0. oosese@ @22m wm/m/ May 24, 1960 E. o. soDER'BERG 2,937,897

BAcxsET LINK FOR Locx sETs Filed Jan. 13. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ,6A/wz. SoeeE/Qa.

AcKsEr LINK Fon Loox snrs Emil 0. Soderberg, 18091/2 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles 26, Calif.

Filed Jan. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 708,710

3 Claims. (Cl. 292-1) 2,937,897 patented May 24,1960

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Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the operating part of the backset linkA of the lock setshown in Fig. 2;

"Fig 5 is a central vertical section through the lock portion of a door having a thirdV embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal transverse section taken along line 6 6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective viewof the backset link of the lock set shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing in detail, in Fig. 1 there is Y shown a portion of a door 10 having a lock set 11 of fore, as is disclosed, for example, in the patent to Ernest v L. Schlage, No. 2,719,744, issued October 4, 1955. The lock set of said Letters Patentis designed to be installed in a door by arranging the latch bolt and link in a bore in the door and arranging the lock set actuating mechanism in a cross bore in the door to engage the link in the actuating mechanism. The link is extendable whereby it may be adjusted to accommodate any selected distance at which the actuating mechanism is to be spaced from the latch bolt.

When installing lock sets having an extendable backset link of the type produced heretofore, one must tirst adjust the backset link to a length which in his judgment will span the space between the latch bolt and the actuating mechanism, then position the latch bolt and the link in the door and-then attempt to engage the inner end of the link with the actuating mechanism. Should the link be found not to have been adjusted to optimum length for engagement with the actuating mechanism, it is necessary to remove the acuating mechanism and the bolt and the link and to adjust the length of the link again, and, finally, by trial and error method the link will have been adjusted in length toextend` to a position where it will become properly engaged by the actuating mechanism.

' It is an object of this invention to provide a lock set having an improved backset link which is adapted to be adjusted to optimum length while positioned in the door thereby to dispense with the above mentioned trial and error method of installation.

A further object s to provide a backset link of theV above mentioned character for a lock set which may be adjusted, while positioned in the door, in which the-lock set is being installed, to a length at which the link will become properly. engaged by the lactuating mechanism of the lock set. y y l Y j ,Another object is to providev a lock set of the above mentioned character which is simple in construction and of relatively low cost.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear during the course of the following part of this specification wherein the details of construction and mode of operation of several embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through the lock portion of a door having a lock set of this invention installed therein;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the lock portion of a door having another embodiment of the lock set of this invention therein;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view in perspective of parts of the backset link of the lock set shown in Fig. l;

this invention installed therein. For purposes of more clearly pointing out wherein this invention constitutes an improvement over prior lock sets, I have chosen to illustrate the lock set 1 1 as generally following the structure of'that illustrated and described in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,719,744, but in combination with a backset link of this invention.

The door has panel surfaces 12 and 13 (see Fig. 6) and an end edge 14 herein referred to as the opening edge ofthe door. There is va face plate 15 secured in such opening edge as by means of screws 16. The plate 15 has an opening 17 formed therein for accommodating the latch bolt 18 of the lock set. The opening 17 is noncircular and, as shown in Fig. 6, the latch bolt 18 is of out-of-round cross section in that portion thereof which extends through the plate opening. The latch bolt also has a flange A19 which strikes the inside surface of the face plate 15 forlimiting outward movement of the latch bolt through the plate opening. i

Thedoor has a horizontally extending bore 22 formed therein in alignment with the opening of the face plate. At its inner end the bore 22 opens into a cross bore 23 formedthrough the door and-extending generally perpendicular to the bore 22.

The latch bolt is positioned in a tubular shell 25 having end anges 26 Hush withthe inside surface Aof the face plate 15 whereby the shell is positioned in the bore 22 of the door and made secure by the screws 16. 0n the inside end of the shell are inwardly extending anges 27 which position an end wall or clip 28 as shown. There isa coil spring29 in the shell which bears at its inner end against the clip 28and at its outer end against a shoulder 30 ofthe latch bolt thereby to urge the latch bolt in a direction out through the face plate opening to a position where the latch bolt iiange 19 abuts the inside of the face plate. 4

Referring now to the actuating mechanism of the lock set, it is positioned in the cross bore 23 and is designated generally by reference numeral 32.l Employing the language of said Patent No. 2,719,744, the actuating mechanism includes a housing 33 serving as a mounting for a rotary spindle 34 adapted to be actuated by any customary device such as a knob,'or turn piece, or lever or key. The spindle is interrupted to afford a pair of cam surfaces 36 vand 37,'bearing against'a follower 38 slidable within the housing 33 along the line of the axis of the bore 22. The follower 38 is formed to provide a pair of facing flanges 39 and 41 spaced apart to afford an intervening gap 42. A coil spring 43 interposed between the follower 38 and the housing 33 impels the spindle normally to assume an intermediate or neutral position as shown in Fig. 1. When the spindle is rotated in either direction, the follower 38 is moved toward the right in Fig. 1 and the spring 43 is compressed.

In the vicinity of the gap 42 the housing 33 is interrupted both in its periphery and in its lateral walls to afford a pair of facing and spaced apart lips 44 and 45.

There is a shell 51 designedto lie within the bore 22 of the door. One end of the shell is provided with a partly perforated head or end plate 52 in which a clip 53 is held in position. The periphery of the shell 51 and the ends of the clip are shaped to serve as hooks. There is consequently provided an interengaging mechanism so that the housing 33 slides laterally into iirm interconnection with the shell 51.

For interconnecting the follower 38 of the actuating mechanism to the latch bolt, there is a backset link` S embodying this invention. Its outer end is constituted of a stem 56 made integral with the latch bolt and extending through an opening in the end wall 2-8. The inner end portion of the stern 56 is screw-threaded and receives an internally threaded collar 57. There is another stem 58 threadably received at its outer end in the collar, while the inner end of the stem 58 has a head 59 engageable with the flanges 39 and 41 of the follower 38.

Reference numeral 60 designates a stop or washer fixed on the stem for holding the outer end of a coil spring 61. The inner end of the coil spring 61 contacts the end plate 52 thus to urge the head S9 of the backset link in a direction toward the latch bolt.

To install the lock set 11, all of the parts thereof with the exception of the actuating mechanism 32 are rst positioned in the bore 22 as shown, whereby the head 59 of the backset link extends into the cross bore 23 of the door. It is preferred that the collar 57 he made tight on the stem 56 as by turning the collar to the end of the screw threads of the stem 56 prior to inserting the latch bolt and the backset link into the door. As thus installed it will be obvious that the head 59 of the backset link is 4accessible through the cross bore 23 for rotating the head so that the stem 58 will be moved in a direction outwardly from or inwardly of the collar 56 to a selected position where the head 59 will be disposed for interengagement` with the anges 39 and 41 of the follower of the actuating mechanism upon insertion of the actuating mechanism into the cross bore 23. Thus, by this invention, the prior art trial and error method of adjusting the overall length of the backset link prior to installing the same in the door is dispensed with, and now it is possible to adjust the backset link to optimumrlength while the same is positioned in the door where it will become engaged automatically by the actuating mechanism upon inserting the actuating mechanism into place. A person installing the lock sets of this invention need only have a supply of backset links of various standard lengths which may be installed in a particular `door whatever the distance of the actuating member of the latch bolt may be.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 4, there is a member 63 which takes the place of the collar 57, stem 58 andl shell parts 51 and 53 of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. The member 63 has a collar portion 64 integral with a stem portion 65 having an end head 66 of square congura tion. In this embodiment, adjustment of the length of the backset link is affected by rotating the head 66 to shorten or lengthen the backset link through the screwthread engagement of the collarv portion 64 over the stem 56.

In the embodiment of Figs. 5-7 there is shown a backset link 70 which is designed for usewith a latch bolt identical with that shown in the aforesaid patent to Schlage, having a shank 71 and an enlarged T-shaped head 72. The backset link 70 comprises a plate 73 bent to provide an end ange 74. The flange is notched as at 75 to dene two spaced apart jaws 76 which serve as hooks to engage the head 72 of the latch bolt. There is an internally screw-threaded nipple 77 welded or otherwise suitably secured to the inside of the plate 73. The threaded borev 78 of the nipple is in axial alignment with the notch 75'. Av bolt member 79 having a square head 80 at one end thereof for engagement with the actuating mechanism, and a` threaded stem end 81 is threadably connected in thenipple whereby the length of the backset link may be adjusted in the manner described above.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein, in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

l. In a lockset for a door having an opening edge, the lock set comprising a latch bolt and an actuating mechanism, the latch bolt having an inner end and being adapted to move non-rotatably and axially reciprocatively in a bore formed inwardly in the door from the opening edge thereof, the actuating mechanism being adapted to tit in a second bore formed in the door and intersecting the rst bore, the combination with the latch bolt and actuating mechanism of a backset link consisting essentially of rst and second threaded members releasably interconnected for longitudinal extension and retraction by rotation of the first threaded member, a single connecting element directly and non-rotatably interconnecting the second threaded member and the latch bolt, whereby the non-rotatable latch bolt functions to prevent rotation of the second threaded member by said direct interconnection, and engaging means on the rst threaded member for releasably engaging the actuating mechanism.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the single connecting element is a stem extension of the second threaded member, the stem extension being secured directly and non-rotatably to the latch bolt.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein ,the latch bolt is provided at its inner end with a T-shaped head and the single connecting element is a `claw member extending from the second threaded member and arranged for releasable, non-rotatable attachment to the T-shaped head of the latch bolt.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,661,454 Wilson Mar. 6, 1928 2,719,744 Schlage Oct. 4, 1955 2,822,202 Welch Feb. 4, 1958 

